Game apparatus



Jan. 16, 1940. GORDQN 2,187,493

GAME APPARATUS Filed June 9, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 16, 1940. i T. GORDON 2,187,493

' GAME APPARATUS Filed June 9, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Patented Jan. 16, 1940 PATENT OFFICE GAME APPARATUS Taylor Gordon, New York, N. Y. Application June 9, 1937, Serial No. 147,194

6 Claims.

My invention relates to a game apparatus, and more particularly to apparatus of the nature of the so-called throwing and catching type of game.

One of the undesirable characteristics of a number of present-day games is that the game embodies the use of apparatus which is complicated in form and in which a great number of rules must be kept in mind to enjoy the game so that a great deal of relaxation with this type of game is impossible. Again, a number of such games embody apparatus which must be used for a considerable length of time in order to complete the game and determine its final scoring value. This is a detriment rather than a helpto those people who in a short length of time wish to enjoy some game form of relaxation and, accordingly, itis one of the objects of my invention to provide an apparatuswhich is simple in form and with which games may be played with-out the di advantages of complicated rulings.

Again, one of the objects of playing games and possibly wherein lies its chief appeal is the fact that in addition to providing an enjoyable form of relaxation, the game also tends to develop a persons sense of skill, alertness and accuracy. In addition to these developments, a game usually appeals to the universal desire to be a winner and, accordingly, it is an object of my invention to provide an apparatus by means of which a game which develops skill, mental'alertness and provides relaxation as well as having an appeal to the desire for winning.

Another undesirable feature of many of the present-day games is the fact that they provide a form of exercise which is either too rigorous for the average person who is untrained, or they fail to provide any physical exercise whatsoever. Accordingly, a game apparatus which offers physical relaxation and exercise of a mild form as well as mental relaxation is highly desirable and accordingly, it is another of the objects of my invention to provide an apparatus by means of which a mild form of exercise may be obtained.

In addition to providing relaxation and exercise for a person indulging in or playing a game, there is also desirable that a game be adaptable for group or team action and, accordingly, it is another of the objects of my invention to provide an apparatus by means of which the individuals playing the game may play individually or as a team, and in which a number of people may indulge simultaneously.

Apparatus for physical exercise, especially that adaptable for use by a number of persons simultaneously is usually either bulky in form or the 'may throw the object around ins each of the individual members; oflcours 'f 55 game itself demands a large area in which to; be played. Baseball, football, tennis, etc-., are"ex-' amples of games which, although the apparatus itself is not complicated, there is necessitated "a large playing area which is prohibitive in tl ie 5 case of indoor indulgence or playing on ship board, etc. Accordingly, it is another objectio'f' my invention to provide apparatus in whichnot only the aforementioned objects are carried ut, but also may be indulged in in a comparatively small area as, for instance, a portion of aldeck of a ship, a play-room, or other comparatively small areas. The apparatus in general consists of a hub member around which is disposed a numberPof arms which emanate radially from the hub, These arms may be spaced about the hub, either symmetrically or unsymmetrically, that is tosay; the points where the arms join the hub; ber may be spaced equi-distant from eachlfother or irregularly. At a position on each of theiarms, which preferably but not necessarily at ,thejex tremity thereof remote from the extrcmlitylvvhere the arm joins the hub is joined to a memberwhich is adaptable to be grasped by the user. Likewise, 25 these members may be regular figuresQQasfor instance, spheres or ellipsoids, or distortedforms of each. It will be appreciated that'faf great number of modifications of forms inayibe fuseid, all of which may present a surface whicli'm ylbe readily grasped by the person using the. .ap a5 tus. These latter members may be marked with indices which are representative of variou ores or they may be colored in fashions which differ, each color being indicative of some particular 35 score. If it be assumed that the-,radialarm's are regularly spaced around the hub memberfand that, for instance, an ellipsoidal shaped l'f n'iber is joined to the arm at the extreznlty'thei eof re,- mote from the position at which theflarm joins the hub, then an apparatus may befmadewhich approximates the shape of a star. Thejuser would grasp one of these members and jbyljthrowin'g the apparatus towards another user will impart a rotary motion about the hub so that theother user will have to catch one of the memberspositioned at the end of the arm. The member that he catches will depend to a degre on hisskill and accuracy in picking out the m ember representative of the higher score. Agrou p qrj tie equen ce ruh: sequentially, and the users may form team each amongst themselves and the score ffor'the team maybe found by the additiyefscores'pf ber 10 containing recesses l l and fitting into each of these recesses is an arm l2. Positioned on each of the arms I2 is a member I3 whichis adapted to form a surface which may be graspedby the user. The members l3 are preferably, ,but not necessarily, positioned at the extremity of the arms l2 remote from the point at which these members join the hub member. The members E3 in this figure are formed by spheres, but it will be appreciated that they are not necessarily limited to this shape. In this figure, each of the members I2 is spaced equi-distant from each other around the hub member I!) but, as shown hereinafter in Fig. 2, this is not at all necessary.

It should be borne in mind that the term joined does not necessarily mean fastened to in the sense that the members are separate and distinct from each other as, for instance, it is quite possible to form the hub member [0, the arm members 12, and the members I3, the latter which are adapted to be grasped by the user in throwing the game apparatus about, or from either a solid rubber construction, for instance, or each of the members, namely, the hub, the radial arms and the grasped members from a single hollow construction which may be inflated through a valve I5. In this manner the otherwise fiat arrangement may be inflated to any desired extent so as to form an apparatus which varies in size. Thefigures of the drawings are i1- lustrative of the theory, and it will be appreciated that there may be a considerable number of modifications thereof.

Referring to Fig. 2, there is shown another embodiment in which a hub member 2%] has a number of arm members 22 extending radially w therefrom, and it will be noted that these memone continuous arrangement and may be inflated bers are not only irregularly spaced around the periphery of the hub member but also these members are unequal in length. In this figure, the members 23 which are adapted to be grasped by the user in throwing the object are forms of ellipsoids.

In Fig. 1, the arrangement is shown so that the arm members fit snugly into the recesses of the hub whereas in Fig. 2 these members are shown as screw-threaded members.

In each case, there may be printed indicia of the score on each of the arm members as shown by the figures,|, 2, 3, l, on Fig. 1, and the printed numerals. I0, 20, 3t, 40, 50 in Fig. 2. Likewise, the embodiment shown in' Fig. 2 may be of a hollow rubber construction so that it may be through a valve 25.

With the separate piece arrangement it is also possible to remove either the spherically shaped member shown in Fig. 1 or the ellipsoids shown in Fig. 2, and which may of themselves be used separately as a ball orobject to be thrown.

Referring to Fig. 3, there is shown another embodiment of my invention in which the ap- 'paratus is made of a hollow, moulded, soft rubber construction which may be inflated. The hub member 30 has joined thereto the arms 3| and the members 32, the latterv forming the surfaces adapted to be grasped by the user and on which is marked the indicia of score either in the form of numbers or by means of variations in color. When deflated, the apparatus is comparatively flat as, for instance, the inner bladder to a football, but the apparatus may be inflated to any desired degree through member 33 and, after inflation, this member may be crimpedor folded to prevent escape of the air and then inserted in the slot 34. It is obvious, of course, that the slot comprises a patch so-to-speak on the surface of the hub and does not in any sense allow the escape of air from the inside of the device.

It might be spoken of as a flap. It will be still further appreciated that the members 32 might be in the form of elongated or ellipsoidal shaped members, for instance, and the necessity for forming the arms 3| would be obviated, that is to say, the members which are grasped by the user and which contains scoring indicia might be mounted directly on the hub in this case so long as there was sufficient surface which might be grasped by the user without necessarily coming into contact with the hub member 30 itself It should be fully appreciated that the particu: lar shape of the hub or arm members are the members which are to be grasped and which contain the indicia of the score either in the form of printed numerals or a variation in color may be the subject of many modified forms. For instance, the hub member might be a solid cylinder arrangement with the arms spaced about the periphery thereof and the score-containingmembers might be distorted .forms of regular figures or any desirable shape.

In the light of the foregoing, it should be held in mind that I do not limit myself to specific embodiments but cover fairly everything which is within the spirit and scope of the .appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A game apparatus comprising a hub member, a plurality of arms joined to said hub member and radiating therefrom said arms being positioned substantially co-planarly, and a single latter members forming a surface which may be grasped.

I 2. A game apparatus comprising a hub member, a plurality of arms joined to said hub memmember joined to each of said arms, each of said I ber and radiating therefrom said arms being positioned substantially co-planarly, and a single member joined to each of said arms at the extremity thereof remote from the hub, each of said latter members forming a surface which may be grasped.

3. An inflatable game apparatus comprising a hollow hub member, a plurality of hollow arm members radiating from said hub member, a hollow member joined to each of said arms, each of said latter members forming a surface which may be grasped, and valve means joined to said apparatus whereby said hub, said arm members and said latter members may be inflated.

4. Apparatus in accordance with claim 3 wherein the hollow member joined to each of said arms is joined at the extremity thereof.

5. An inflatable game apparatus comprising a hollow hub member, a plurality of hollow arm members radiating regularly from said hub member, said arm members being positioned substantially co-planarly, a hollow member joined to each of said arms at the extremities thereof, each of said latter members forming a'surface which may be grasped, and valve means joined to said apparatus whereby said hub, said arm members and said latter members may be inflated. t

6. An inflatable game apparatus comprising a hollow hub member, a plurality oi'hollow arm members radiating from said hub member, a

hollow member joined to each of said arm members, each of said hollow members joined to said arm members forming a surface which may be grasped, and closure means joined to said apparatus whereby said hub, said arm members, and said hollow members joined to said arm members may be inflated and the pressure maintained Within the apparatus.

TAYLOR GORDON. 

